u/wlosi62

Hi everyone,

I’m pretty new to the headphone world and I’m currently struggling with a decision between the Sennheiser HD 560S, which I bought 4 days ago, and the newer HD 550.

I was looking for headphones mainly for:
occasional listening to calm classical, instrumental music, rock and metal,
playing/practicing on a digital piano,
editing wedding films and general video work in DaVinci Resolve Studio.

Before buying the HD 560S, I read a lot of reviews and posts praising them, not only compared to other Sennheiser models, but also against many other headphones in general. I saw quite a few people saying they had bought and tested several pairs of headphones before finally finding the HD 560S and sticking with them.

Overall, I’m very happy with the sound of the HD 560S. However, only after buying them, I somehow came across the HD 550, and most reviews and opinions I’ve found seem to suggest that the HD 550 sound better than the HD 560S.

That said, I’ve also found some opinions, although they seem to be in the minority, where people still prefer the HD 560S over the HD 550. For example:

https://www.whathifi.com/headphones/wired-headphones/sennheiser-hd-550

In this review, the author mentions a recording with two pianos, where the HD 560S made it possible to hear two separate pianos, while on the HD 550 they sounded more like one big piano.

Another example:
https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/s/gdX65Dej3t

In this Reddit post, u/Tiny-Employment-3338 also points out some advantages of the HD 560S over the HD 550 in terms of sound.

Could you help me better understand the real differences between these two headphones?
For my use case - music listening, digital piano practice, and video editing - which one would you personally choose and why?

I’m not necessarily looking for the “newer” model, but rather the one that makes more sense in practice. I’d especially appreciate opinions from people who have heard both the HD 560S and HD 550.